I think that in our efforts to tell women that it's ok to breastfeed in public as long as they're discreet, we've made it embarrassing. If it's not embarrassing, why the need to be 'discreet'? Not only that, but by being 'discreet', aka HIDING BFing, younger people (and lots of older people who either never had kids or can't remember their children being little!) don't even know BFing is there, don't know that there's this great thing they can do when it's their turn, don't know that it's really normal, don't know that it can be a struggle to get it right, and just don't know when it's being done or not.
To me, when someone says it's "ok if it's discreet", they're really telling me they don't approve of people BFing in public. "It's ok if I don't know it's happening", is what I hear. It's suggesting that there are women who pop out a boob, leave it on display for a few minutes before attaching the child. How ridiculous a notion. Women get their boobs out to feed their children, not to display their nipples. Simple as that. If people see nipples then, guess what? That's what a boob is and what it does!
Plus, the irony for me is that blankets and those insipid BFing covers only draw attention to the fact that you're BFing and no-one actually notices when I just 'pull out a boob' to BF with no blanky in sight. That's ok if you're not embarrassed about people knowing you're BFing, but wasn't the point to be as unnoticeable as possible?? I don't get it.
Anyhoo, I really resent being told it's ok to BF in public as long as it's discreet. The more people BF in public, the more we'll all appreciate that boobs come in all varieties, not just the pumped up, 'classic' shape (which has GOT to be a minority in reality!!) that never strays beyond a D cup.
Do your wife a favour, and don't mention that BFing can be done discreetly